Mail-box bracket



' C. A. MclNTOSH.

MAIL BOX BRACKET.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13. ms.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920" 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

(ZyimzAfl/Yafizfasi C. A. MclNTOSH.

MAIL BOX BRACKET.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, I919.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

6761 20 4.1%[71foah CLAYTON A. MGINTQSEI, 9F PALMER, KANSAS.

MAIL-BOX BRACKET.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. CLAY'roN A- Molnrosrr, a citizen of the United States, resid- "ugat Palmer, in the county of ashington and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful improvements in llfiaillion Brackets; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap'pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in brackets, and is especially adapted to star port rural free delivery mail boxes, although it need not be restricted to such use.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a mail box bracket which is of such construction that it may be properly held in position on a post by a single bolt.

another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above mentioned character which may easily be secured to a post, and which shall be simple in construction, strong, durable and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of theinvention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the acompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals areemployed to designate.

like parts throughout the same,

Figure l is an elevation of one form of the bracket.

2 is a horizontal section on the plane of the line 2-2- of Fig. 1, the bracket being shown in plan view.

Fl g 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2 showing the invention in a slightly modified form.

l ig. is a view like Fig. 1 showing another slightly modified form of the bracket.

Figs. 5 and 6 are sections on the plane of the lines and 66 of Fig. l.

l i '7 is a side elevation of still another slightly modified form of bracket, it being especially designed to support a basket ball ring and net.

Fig. 8 is a section on the plane of the line 88 of Fig. 7.

Inasmuch as I have shown three slight modifications of my bracket, I will describe each form separately, and for the sake of clearness, I will employ the same numerals on the parts of the device which are exactly alike.

Specification of Letters lratent.

Application filed November 13, 1919.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

Serial No. 337,652.

Referring speciiicall I to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a pole or post of any suitable form, but preferably cylindrical as shown. in Figs. 1 and 2 and at to 6 a wooden post is shown and the construction of the 'cltet shown in these views is especially pted to this kind of a post. In Fig. 3 siown a slightly modified form of my vent-ion and this form of bracket is to be used in connection with a metallic post.

-.i will first set forth the construction as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in which. the post 1 is notched at :2 and this notch serves to permit a retaining plate 3 to extend into the same. This plate is substantially square and has its front end riveted at l, to an outwardly extending bracket-arm 5. The front end of the bracket-arm his split and its extreme ends are forced apart to form a V and are apertured as at 6 to enable the same to be securely fastened by suitable means, such as bolts and nuts, to a mail box board, which is usually employed in devices of this character. The opposite end of the bracket-arm 5 is turned or bent clownwardly at an approximate right angle at 7 so as to enable the same to rest against the post 1. in order that the bent end 7 may be securely fastened to the post 1, I pass abolt 8 entirely through the post and thence through an aperture in the bent end 7 and "hold the same in place by a nut 9 threaded on the bolt. In instances where an is used tohew or cut the notch 2 in the post, chips break off and leave an uneven surface, slightly underneath the notch 2, and I therefore turn the extreme end 10 of the portion 7 outwardly so as to permit it to firmly seat itself in the said uneven surface caused by such hewing; This construction will not only be neat, but will tend to hold the brakcet firmly in place.

Referring now to the modified form in 8, a hollow iron post is shown. The construction of the bracket-arm 5 is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that the extreme point 16 of the bent portion 7 is straight instead of curved and thus adapts itself to this type of post. It will be neces .sary, however, that the construction of the retaining plate 3 be different when it is used with a metallic post. I therefore rorm a semi-circular notch 3 in the same so that when in position on the post, it will partially surround the same and prevent pivotal movement of the bracket 5 around the bolt 8, and also prevent any lateral swing of the bracket-arm around the post.

It should be noted that the retaining plate 3 (Figs. 1 and 2) extends beyond the portion 7 of the bracket 5 and into the kerf 2. The object of this construction is to prevent pivotal movement of the bracketarm around the bolt 8 and also to lateral swing of the bracket-arm about the post 1. This plate also serves as an additional brace for the bracket arm 5.

In most instances, I desire to employ as an additional support for heavy mail boxes as are usually employed, a diagonal brace 11 as shown in Fig. 1. One end of the brace may be attached to one of the-bolts which secures the mail box board to the bracket arm 5 and the other end may be secured to the post by a spike or the like in the manner shown on Fig. 1. When used with a hollow iron post, it may be secured in any suitable manner, such as for instance by drilling a hole through the post and fastening the brace thereto by means of a bolt and nut.

In Figs. at to 6 I have shown still another form of my bracket. This bracket is especially designed to be attached to the post 1 by means of a single bolt and nut 8 and 9 respectively and its construction is practically the same as that shown in Figs, 1 and 2 except that the brace 11 shown in these figures is different from the one shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In this form of bracket the brace 11 has its upper end bent laterally at 12 and it is secured to the bracketarm 5 by the rivet a which serves also to retain the plate 3 in position. The opposite end of the brace 11 is also bent laterally toward the post 1 as shown at 13 and this portion bears against the post. The portion 13 of course, could be bent as shown as the lower end of the brace 11 is, in Fig. 1 and secured to the post as there shown, but the mannerin which it is here shown, that is, in Fig. 4, is the preferred way of constructing it.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown the method in which a basket ba'll'ring and net may be employed with the bracket. As shown in these figures it will be seen that most of the construction is identical with that shown in Figs. 4: to 6, except that instead of making the bracket arm 5 of the length there shown I extend it only to the point 14 and at this point I weld, solder or otherwise secure the basket-ball ring 15, so it will be seen that my bracket is adaptable to various uses, including the aforesaid described ones and others, such as for instance, it may be used as a shelf support or wire support, etc.

It is understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the sub joined claim.

Having thus described my invention what Iclaim is:

An article of the class described comprising a bracketarm, one end of which is adapted to engage and support an article while the other end is bent at right angles to the body portion, being adapted for dis position against and connection to a post, a fiat, substantiallyrectangular metal plate, and a brace arm, one end of which is parallel with the bracket-arm while the remainder is directed diagonally with respect to said arm, its free end being designed to bear against the post, and a rivet extending through said plate, bracket arm, and parallel portion of the brace, se ving to secure these parts together, one edge of said plate extending outwardly beyond the laterally bent end of the bracket-arm so as to permit it to extend :into a transverse kerf formed in the post thus serving to prevent pivotal movement and lateral swinging of the bracket-arm.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. 1

CLAYTON A. MOINTOSH. 

